Wednesday, June 12

i left off at Prom (and the First Lady of the neighborhood association is demanding an update!)... if i remember correctly, prom was in April, and i reported in to you in May. i could be really reallyreally wrong though because i still kinda think this is January. :-D

i saw a rabbit... okay, i saw a lot of rabbits. they are ALLLLL over my 'hood this spring and summer!

it's become a big joke in the single-wide about how if you wanna know where i've been, or what i've seen, look through my camera card. it's also become a big joke that really strange things catch my eye through my camera lens and i feel compelled to photograph them... but that's a whole 'nother story...

for now - i've decided to tell you a pictorial story of my May... and because my camera card holds vast amounts of extremely random stuff (and that isn't even including the picture folders on my phone!!!) - this will be a two-parter...

part 1:

(it started with the rabbit.)

the man-child had his very last high school band concert where he pulled a fast one and traded the trombone for the baritone... he does that sometimes.

then, one bright, saturday morning, i headed off for a tractor pull that the ultimate redneck - my Uncle - was pullin' in...

not tooooo far in to this fun little road trip, i got sidetracked by an estate sale sign. on the way to the estate sale, i crossed this bridge and became fascinated with the yellow... so i pulled over.

when i was little - we used to swim in this creek...

instead of counting my age in years - i've decided i'm going to count it in dropping water levels... ;-D OBVIOUSLY i was little a lot of water levels ago!!!

and i saw this... growing in rock and debris, yellow stuff and asphalt... that's pretty fun, right? so i took a picture of it.

i made it to the estate sale and found some barrels and an old tv stand and a various assortment of other fun... did i take pictures of any of it? no.

BUT! i did make it to the tractor pull...

and - just in time!!!

i almost missed the Uncle redneck!!!

look Ma! no hands!!!

did he cause a tractor jam?!

redneck tractor puller in training...

luckily - i didn't miss the Uncle redneck. well - 3 of his 4 pulls i didn't miss. he had 3 tractors out there... the two gorgeously restored and stylin' Allis Chalmers, and this one...

he HAD to take this one so he could maintain his redneck credentials...

don't judge a book by it's cover though...

he won four of these - and one on this tractor!

there were some other pretty cool tractors out there... just don't tell my Uncle i said that, m'kay?

not only a new pocketbook out of re.cycled FUN - but a new pattern design as well!

THEN: it was senior picture time...

yeah... that's about how it went.

remind me next time to HIRE a photographer - not try to argue with the man-child and his hair for just ONE good photo!!!

since he hated posing for me sooooooooooooo much...

i saw this in an alley and i made him the getaway driver (for the first time EVER) in a dumpster diving expedition.

he KIND OF thought that was amusing... but not as amusing as he found it when i told him i was going to report him to his Grandmother(don't tell her, but he's really not as skeert of her as i am) if he didn't straighten up and let me get good graduation invitation photos...

Wednesday, May 8

oh... i do... but i had blocked it all out until a few weeks ago when my man-child reminded me his prom was about to happen, then again when Lendi (The Threadbare Gypsy) mentioned that she and her daughter were going prom dress shopping... I had immediate flashbacks with those double-whammies...

my junior year - i decided (and the household finances also helped with my decision) to design and make my own dress. i was dating a young man that went to another school in Waco(i considered that the BIG CITY at the time...) so i had TWO proms to attend - mine and his! "the Mama" and i made a biggggggg trip to the fabric store - i had my sketch pad out...

i was in designing mode...

for TWO DRESSES!

oh - the FUN! the THRILL!!!

the dress for his prom was going to be sapphire blue and white... the dress for MY prom was going to be aqua blue with sparkles - both with fun sleeves and lots of "flounce"

imagine this:

the sapphire blue dress was tea-length, blue and white polka dots - lifts at the bottom (secured with eyelet bows) so the ruffles would peak out underneath, big cap sleeves with more eyelet bows... a sweetheart neckline, drop waist... WHITE SHOES... even worse: WHITE HOSE...

the aqua blue was tea-length, satin and lace... FULL super-pouffy LACE cap sleeves, sweetheart neckline, lace cutouts on the bodice that my Mom sat up all night (the night before prom) and sewed her very own crystals in each flower center, drop waist... white shoes...

excuse me for a minute - i think i will go crawl in a fashion hole and not come out...

the HORROR!!!

*shudder*

but i'm not done yet...i still have to shock and awe you with my senior prom dress...

Brandi was my best friend all through high-school. it was a tiny tiny school in the middle of Texas. senior prom was a HUGE DEAL. months of prep and planning... "what am i going to do with my hair?", "who is going to ask me to prom?", "WHAT DRESS WILL I WEAR?!",etc., etc.

well, Brandi and her mom were going to make her senior year prom dress, but neither of them knew what style to make. so - off we go on a day trip to the dress shop. in Waco at the time i think there was only ONE dress shop and it had ballgowns, prom gowns, pageant gowns, bridal gowns... a whole shop full of ruffles and lace and sparkles and flounce and "poof"... a GIRL'S DREAM!!! i will never forget when we walked in - i sucked in my breath and my eyes didn't know where to go first... i could have moved in to that shop and stayed for the rest of my life! GORGEOUS EVERYWHERE!!!

Brandi started playing around picking out and trying on dresses so that she and her mom had some ideas... i aimed straight for the ball gowns. rows and rows and rows of ruffles...

then i saw it:

the gown of all gowns, the creme of the crop... i swear to you - it had light shining down on it - and i'm not talking late 80's fluorescent light...

it was THE DRESS.

i held my breath, WHISPERED at the sales lady, "oh please, could i try this on?", followed her - pretty much on her heels and within an inch of that dress - to the dressing room... pulled it over my head...

the zipper sounded as sweet as a summer breeze, the petticoats dropped and landed as if they were performing a happy dance of their own, the poufy sleeves settled on my shoulders as if they had come home... the drop waist sat right where it was supposed to and belled out for a mile each direction - making the sweetest music with each breath that i took...

sparkle and sequins and ruffles and petticoats...

that petal pink taffeta, with lace and sparkle pick-ups along the bottom to show even MORE white lace, beaded bodice and drop waist Cinderella dress had been MADE FOR ME.
it was mine...it was destiny...
it was going to make me the belle of my prom...

I HAD TO HAVE THAT DRESS!!!

i went home and told "the Mama" allllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll about THE DRESS... for days. weeks.but... i also knew telling her about THE DRESS wasn't going to fix the fact that i was one of three for a single-mama with two jobs - and one of the 3 was in college. talking about THE DRESS wasn't going to make the job that i had (even if i had saved every penny) add up $$ wise to THE DRESS amount... so while talking about THE DRESS i was also trying to come up with a plan B.

she jumped through hoops for me to have THE DRESS. and the hoops that she stumbled in, her friend volunteered to keep jumpin' through for her... SERIOUSLY!!! it's a mama-daughter legend of all legends 'cause I WORE THAT DRESS TO MY SENIOR PROM!!!THE DRESS hung in all of it's majestic dreamy ruffly lacy sparkly glory in my room, then in my bathroom so that i could squeeze by that great giant pile of petticoats and skirt just to hear it rustle all of the morning before prom...

the day of prom came and it was a day as big as THE DRESS. "the Mama" did my hair (think: farrah fawcett wings and an insane amount of hairspray), she did my make-up, gave me her pink pearls to wear (not the ones she had used ritt dye to make pink, but the REAL pink pearls), i donned the white panty hose... and... uhmmm... the white shoes.

In this case though - the white hose and shoes were covered by the 19 layers of petticoats - then the lace - then the taffeta...

*sigh*

my date my senior year was my older brother's best friend. when i was young i TOLD him he would be my date... he should have listened 'cause i never forgot that i had asked him to my senior prom! LOL poor Snydley... he had to hang out with a bunch of high school kids for an evening... but he DID have the prom queen as his date! i think it was more the late 80's/early 90's Cinderella Princess petti-coated ball gown that won the crown than me...

i figured, since you can't "un-see" fashion crimes once you've laid eyes on their atrociousness, i'd show you my son's prom pictures and just let you use your imagination regarding my prom outfits...

you're welcome.*grin*

the man-child flew solo with a couple of wing-men in tow, but then found a dancing and dinner partner once he walked in. he had fun... i think... apparantly prom for a young man is not as important as prom is to a young lady, 'cause... uhmm... he acted like it was a regular Saturday night. LOLOL!!! pffffftttt...

comin' to you LIVE from a single-wide where, once-again, "the Mama" pulled the line and hooked the man-child up with a tuxedo... what a fun circle, right? *wink*

p.s.: did i fail to mention that the petal pink taffeta, with lace and sparkle pick-ups along the bottom to show even MORE white lace, beaded bodice and drop waist Cinderella dress had a bow on the back-side the size of Cinderella's pumpkin carriage?*giggle* i'm resuming memory block-out mode now...

Saturday, March 2

Where was I?*hangs head in shame as I look at the date on my last post...*
In my defense - I've been making great things!!! And doing great things!!! And in the middle of that - haven't had much to say that you would find interesting!!!

My last Soiree was INCREDIBLY great! April (the hostess), her family and her new home are GORGEOUS!!! It was such a joy to just park my duct tape and enjoy meeting new friends, chit-chatting with old friends and soaking up the fun!!! It all started with a squirrel thinking he was on the guest list and making his rounds through April's house...

i stole this photo from Jenn too... this is April's daughter - the BEST product model i've ever had!!! beautiful - chocolate covered strawberries and all!

A couple of weeks after that, I showed my freckle-face in the Ft. Worth area and Jenn(my rep (*giggle* (yes... i still giggle when i say "rep"...))) took me to all kinds of FANTASTIC shops and stores!!! We tinkered around with checking in to red.neck"arriving" in various shops in various zip codes, but it turns out - I don't really fit in anywhere that we have found yet!!!

Heading home that night I had a bit of a complex... my style isn't shabby awesome, it's not rhinestones and big hair, it's not subtle timelessness, it's not hippy coolness or cowgirl/western laid-back... I'm just me. THEN I realized: I don't "fit" anywhere 'cause I'm almost ready for a shop of my own - and I'll know that my random style that is SEW ME will fit in just perfectly - and I can freely and with GREAT JOY work in all of the other styles that make life so fun - and there will be something for EVERYone!

Until "red.neck Chic" the general store throws her doors open, Jenn is lining up red.neck Chic Soiree appearances for me... my next is on the 15th with Kristi and Amy - watch out San Antonio!!! Luckily Jenn is ALSO keeping me in line and telling me where to be and when... a friend said it best, "you finally have someone that will focus for you while you just dance around in your crazy duct tape roll forgetting what day it is." If that wasn't true, I would probably be upset at that statement... but instead, I will just thank Jenn yet again 'cause there is no denying the fact that I usually can't remember my own name. :-/

What else, what else...

I've made some new pocketbooks - re.po'd and re.designed some new pearl-snaps, dishtowels, soaps, etc. etc. etc. You know me... I set one thing down and pick up 3 new things to make. *big grin*

a very big GIANT pink flower tree!

The "Taj Mahal" in The Hillsboro Antique Mall is going to get a major face-lift in a couple of weeks. I've been shopping my own barn, picking up things here 'n there, making MORE new things... fashion. home. life. is all fixing to collide in one big space... again. Oh wait... that's kind of an on-going thing, right?

I'm still harassin' Honey at Honey's Home + Style off and on. I've run in to some on-going health problems (no worries - it's nothing some duct tape, Wd-40 and time up on cinder-blocks can't fix right up!) so if I'm stayin' home instead of going to lust over beautiful things at Honey's store, it's with a big grin because I duck outside, run straight for the lab.or.a.tory and lock myself in!!! Let me tell you though: there's a post in "edit" right now waiting for me to take some pictures... Honey has swung me to the "fine linen" side of life. And, I'm not kidding, it was like SANTA came to visit me when she got new fabric samples in for her furniture! I sat and just touched them - and was kinda sad when I had to leave them! I know, I'm such a sick fabric hoarder! LOL!

In the meantime, I've sprinkled some random photos through this post because that's what I do... oh, and I also take photos of random stuff. LOL

this photo cracks me up... it looks like hairy bricks.

The man-child is winding up to slide in to graduation!

We're in the second semester of his SENIOR YEAR - good GRIEF when and how did that happen?!?! - and Prom, Senior trips and skip days, Senior stuff in general... graduation... AUGH! - it's all being discussed in the single-wide.

A couple of weeks ago we had the Area Youth concert where he was first-chair trombone... then last week he had UIL Solo & Ensemble where he did so well he gets to advance to the State competition in 2 different ensembles! One with his trombone and one with his baritone!

Welcome!!!

I have changed my business name! It's still ME, but I am now known as "maud elizabeth"!
red.neck COOL. trailer-park FABULOUS. country CHIC. blue-collar VOGUE. whatever you choose to call it, it is HIP, SOPHISTICATED…incredibly FUN and extremely UNIQUE! as a guest and potential "red.neck" you are invited to browse my home page, view my projects, post comments and access the red.neck archives. have some fun!